Combined address and file card



Jan. 15, 1952 F. WASSELL CQMBINED ADDRESS AND FILE CARD 2 SHEETSSHEET 1 Filed March 27, 1946 l I I I l I I I I I I I I l1 lllLlllIIIl I l I I I I I ll MM/ 1 W w v fl w y or 1 1 INVENTOR. 15 F/EANKLLOYZ? VVASSELL ATTORNEY Jan. 15, 1952 Filed March 27, 1946 F. L. WASSELL COMBINED ADDRESS AND FILE CARD 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 INVENTOR. fiA/v/rlLorp W46SELL ATTORNEY Patented Jan. 15, 1952 nan natal s an, Westpfdrt, c1in.-, stagger to Georgefi 'Farkin Wassell westiptrt, ,cann. Application March 27, 194%); 'sefia'i No. 557565 1 Claim. (01. in ins) 'l'h'is invention relatesto card filing sys ems, and has particular reference to improvements in loose-leaf card filing systems wherein the cards are echeloned laterally to e ipose a desired portion of each card view. I p

v Variouscard indicia fselective characters,tabs and the likehave been employed heretofore to iacilitat selection and placement of the individualcard in filing systems. It is diificult to maintain the filed cards in the desired relationship Lateral displacement of the cards frequently occurs duringmanipulation of the card system with resultant masking of visual indicia and confusion as to location. .Withdrawal of a card from the file tends to tilt orotherwise displace adjacent cards, necessitating frequent rearrangement of the entire filing system; This is particularly the case when the cards curl or become soiled, as may result from frequent handling.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved loose-leaf card, filing system which is easily and cheaply constructedand wherein the cards are accurately and relatively firmly positioned in a desired relationship.

A further object is to provide a card filing system wherein the cards are placed in laterally echeloned relationship, rendering visible preselected marginal portions of each card; i i

A further object is to provide a card filing system wherein the individual cards are stabilized against tilting orrocking movement upon withdrawal of an adjacent card, thus minimizing disarrang einent of the cardme system dining use.

A further object of the inventidn is tat-revue til-card for use in a card filing system; wherein novel means are provided to" facilitate registry and subsequent use of information imprinted on the card.

Yet a further object is to provide a card filing system wherein visual indicia on the cards indicate a condition or the state of completion of the file contents.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description and drawings, wherein Figure 1 is a view in vertical elevation of the card filing system of the invention with the front panel of the card filing cabinet removed to show the relative positioning of the cards therein;

Figure 2 is a top plan view thereof;

Figure 3 is a detailed cross sectional view of the tray of the filing cabinet showing the novel card supporting means employed;

other selective characters to facilitate groupi ife a sane iv or th ane and em lo ed i he pres nt v tion,-

sfie efi is a as V ew 9 a furt er em odiment fil n fi rd r us Wiihihe ntin ntion; Figure 6 is a fragmentary view of the card with eedse iher e im er t v posi i n an Figure 7 is a view of rd-H, i .o v a o. Re e r n t e. awin s. the numeral .1 refers. toa card filing cabinet having side walls ii and; !2; rear wall i3; front-i4; and abottom tray i5, assembled in conventional manner by screws, 16., As shown in Figure. l, a. number of cards ii. are assembledlaterally echeloned re- }s iQns p-,, ea h. a d. being s aced to xp se. a marginal portion it of the next adjacent card. A master card l9 maybeprovided to subdivide the. cardsll into any number of desired groupingswithinthefiling cabinet. p v t Y 7 The cards l'l maybe provided with visual or ing and indexing As shown in Figures 1 and 4, the; upper edge ,of each card I! is provided with a mark 20; adapted to form acontinuous line 2i of a series of marks, when a number of cards l'i arepositioned in the filing cabinet. The bottom edgeof the card- Il may be similarly marked at 22: It will be apparent that displacement of or removal of a card I1 from the file will leave a break in; the continuity of the line 2| as at 23, instantly indicating to the operator the absenceof a card from the file or the proper position of a card which has been removed from the file for examination;

The upper edges of the cards I! may be formed with a slopingporti'on 24, providing a convenient space for .tabu'l'ating data such as" a name: an addresslarr indicating key or number; or the like.

As shown in Figures 1 and 3, means are provided for selectively positioning and stabilizing the cards in the filing cabinet, reducing to a minimum disarrangement of the file upon removal of a card. To achieve this object of the invention the bottom portion of the cabinet or tray I5 is formed with a series of grooves and ridges or guides 25, forming a corrugated or saw-tooth surface which receives complementally deformed portions of the cards I1. As shown in Figure 4, the bottom portion of the card I! may be provided with a corrugated or saw-tooth edge comprising a series of ridges 26 having blunted or truncated extremities 21 forming angular edges 28, adapted to be received between the corresponding guides 25 of the tray [5. The cooperating saw-tooth surfaces of the cards the reverse side of the 3 and the filing tray l5 facilitates seating of the cards in the tray in proper position, and position the cards firmly against accidental lateral movement. Similarly, upon removal of a card, the tendency of adjacent cards to tilt or otherwise displace is resisted by frictional engagement of the angular edge 28 of the card 11, with the corresponding adjacent surfaces of the tray guides 25. This construction provides an unusually firm surface contact between the card edges and the receiving tray of the filing cabinet, and avoids the necessity for providing auxiliary card positioning means such as cross rods and the like, which only loosely engage the bottom of the card, offering no resistance to tilting of the cards. By truncating the ridges 26 of the card [7, inaccuracies of placement of the cards due to bending or fraying of the ridges on the card edge, are avoided. Moreover, by formation of the teeth 26 in the manner shown to impart added strength at the bases thereof, a greater number can be formed per inch and thus lateral displacement of the cards can be provided in stages as small as the type of a typewriter.

It will be observed that in forming the filing system, the cards may be displaced laterally by the operator to the extent of any desired multiple of the guides 25, so that a predetermined marginal portion of the card I! will be exposed to view. In the embodiment of the invention shown, the indicia and 2| are proportioned to a lateral displacement of two of the guides in the tray l5. It is apparent that this system may be modified as desired by the operator merely by extending proportionally the indicia 20 and 2| along the respective edges of the card H.

The tray [5 may be constructed of wood, plastic or metal, being easily and inexpensively formed to provide the desired corrugated or saw-tooth surface, without the necessity of fitting auxiliary parts to the cabinet.

'In a further embodiment of the invention, there is provided a filing card preformed to facilitate the recording of data and employing the'data in addressing bills, notices and the like. Asshown in Figures 5-7, the card 30 preferably may be formed with marginal characters 3| and 32 to facilitate grouping of the cards in echelon in a card index file, not shown. The bottom edge of the card 30 may be corrugated as at 33, for the purposes and advantages previously described.

The corner of the card 30 is folded back at 34 forming a flap 35, and the card is slotted at 36 to receive the point 31 of the flap 35, firmly posltioning the flap against the card. As is shown in' Figure 7, a print reproducing material such as carbon paper 38 is suitably amxed to the reverse side of the card beneath the flap 35. In this manner, when data such as an address is typed onto the card 39 as at 39, the data is reproduced either on the flap 35 or the reverse side of the card 30, as may be desired. The carbon impression of the data may be employed advantageously with carbon impression reproducing mechanisms now available, to address bills, notices and the like, facilitating operation of the card filing system for this purpose.

While the invention has been described with reference to the drawings, it is intended to be limited only as defined in the following claim.

I claim:

A card for use in a filing system, said card comprising a main body portion, a flap at one corner of the main body portion, and a print reproducing material, the main body portion having an obverse side, a reverse side and a slot, the flap being connected to the main body portion by a fold line and being folded against the reverse side of the main body portion, the slot being spaced from the fold line for releasably retaining the end of the folded flap, and the print reproducing material being sandwiched between the folded flap and the reverse side of the main body portion covered by the folded fiap, the main body portion further having an indicia receiving area on the obverse side between the fold line and the slot, said indicia receiving area being of a size and shape to receive an address or index mark and said print reproducing material being opposite and co-extensive with the indicia receiving area to make a reproducible impression of the address or index mark on the reverse side covered by the flap.

FRANK LLOYD WASSELL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 961,928 Wooldridge June 21, 1910 1,000,501 Elliott Aug. 15, 1911 1,122,874 Donovan Dec. 29, 1914 1,170,434 Engel Feb. 1, 1916 1,208,269 Belknap Dec. 12, 1916 1,250,568 Dayton Dec. 18, 1917 1,367,550 Jones Feb. 8, 1921 1,939,089 Tanschek Dec. 12, 1933 1,945,927 Watson Feb. .6, 1934 2,209,586 Swift July 30, 1940 2,336,572 Schuessler Dec. 14, 1943 2,381,170 Kendig Aug..7, 1945 2,398,982 Watkins Apr. 23, 1946 p 

